AussieOracle

The 11th Commandment;

I thought of this one last time i was in this kind of debate.

Thiests have used the commandments through the ages for building moral boundaries. The 10 commandments were to guide us in our moral future and help us form sustainable and peaceful society.

Yet what will happen when over-population causes catastrophic suffering and death. Catholics blindly ignore the fact that suffering is caused by the absence of an 11th commandment guiding us in the limitations of this planets ability to support life and take literally the words "go forth and populate the earth".

This to me suggests that the commandments were specifically formed by human perceptions of morals at the time they were formed, not by an omnipotent being.

Has anyone heard any reason why god stopped at 10? The commandments are prolific in pointing out different areas of human life requiring attention, but with many exceptions that only become prevelant in modern times. This presents the idea that they are in fact of human origin.

BigJim

" Here is my problem with the ten commandments- why exactly are there 10?

You simply do not need ten. The list of ten commandments was artificially and deliberately inflated to get it up to ten. Here's what happened:

About 5,000 years ago a bunch of religious and political hustlers got together to try to figure out how to control people and keep them in line. They knew people were basically stupid and would believe anything they were told, so they announced that God had given them some commandments, up on a mountain, when no one was around.

Well let me ask you this- when they were making this shit up, why did they pick 10? Why not 9 or 11? I'll tell you why- because 10 sound official. Ten sounds important! Ten is the basis for the decimal system, it's a decade, it's a psychologically satisfying number (the top ten, the ten most wanted, the ten best dressed). So having ten commandments was really a marketing decision! It is clearly a bullshit list. It's a political document artificially inflated to sell better. "

http://www.geocities.com/bobmelzer/gc10cx.html

Godless Wonder

It's interesting to me that there's no prohibition of slavery in the 10 commandments and instead of such a prohibition there's Leviticus 25:44-46 or so. You can't covet you neighbor's ass, but you can enslave his ass? How come so many black Americans seem to subscribe to this crazy religion? You'd think that whole slavery thing would be a bit of a touchy point.

Dust

The problem with your line of thinking is that you are not seeing it from a theist perspective. You say Catholics ignore the “fact�? that suffering is caused by the absence of an eleventh commandment. Not only would I love for you to show me how this is indeed a fact, but it could be said by many that the 11th commandment was given by Jesus…�?Love one another, even as I have loved you.�?. That is the “new�? commandment as Jesus is written to have said it. Doesn’t do much for your argument.

Then you speak of limitations of the planet, and it’s ability to support life, while saying, “that suggests the commandments were formed by humans, and not an omnipotent being. Key word here being “omnipotent�?. If there is truly an omnipotent being as such, you really won’t get very far with an argument like that, with people who believe in one.

The argument can only expand out from here into those areas giving your argument immediate breakdown.

There are four numbers in the Bible that denote completion or perfection. Three, seven, ten, and twelve all mean completion and perfection. While each number represents completion or perfection, it is a different type of completion or perfection. Three means "divine perfection." Seven means "spiritual perfection." Twelve means "governmental perfection." Ever notice there are 12 members on a jury? Ten is the number of perfection or completion of God's "divine order." It is the only one of the perfect numbers in which humans have a part. We cannot be part of the three, seven, or twelve. We are definitely part of the ten since it is the number of completion based on God's order AND human responsibility. The number ten is built into our very anatomy. For instance, we have ten fingers to do God's work and ten toes to walk upright before God.

Why only Ten Commandments in the Old Testament? Why not fifteen or twenty? The Ten Commandments contain all that is necessary, and no more than this is necessary, both as to their number and their order. They are examples of God's order and man's responsibility. The first five concern our relationship with God. The last five concern our relationships with other humans. The number ten is the start of a whole new order of numbers and the completion of the single digit numbers that come before it. Our responsibility in stewardship is to give God ten percent of our first fruits because the tithes represent the whole of what is due from man to God' based on His claim on the whole.

In this case it could be said that the “11th�? commandment is inherent in the ten.

PoodleLovinPessimist

There are no "10 commandments". There are a shitload of them, the first 10 of which are arbitrarily designated "the 10 commandments". Actually, IIRC, there are two accounts of the issuing of the commandments, and they differ in their first 10.

I'm much too lazy and indifferent to find the actual cites.

The 11th commandment is, of course, "Don't get caught."

Yahzi

Ever notice there are 12 signs of the zodiac?

Your mythology is made-up fantasy, and your endorsement of numerology is just sad.

Well, except that little thing about slavery.

WCH

So "do not commit adultery" is necessary, but "do not commit rape" is not? Interesting ethical system you've got there that condemns the former and allows the latter.

Dust

I was just tryin' to answer the man's/woman's question.

That's the best you atheists have in response? Mud?

So, you wanna play…Ok, I’ll play.

Yes, and they were designated for a reason. There wasn’t 150 commandments and laws written on them there stones.

Maybe you shouldn’t be so lazy. The two accounts contain exactly the same commandments and they are even in the same order. Here, I'll make it easy for you...starting Exodus 20:3, and starting Deuteronomy 5:7

:banghead:

Yeah. So? You think everything with a number 12 is going to mean government? And if you think I said that as, "hey look, there's 12 jury members and 12 biblically represents government, God exists!" then your a few plagues short of a bible.

That’s called a bias opinion. Prove it.

Your lame remarks because you have nothing productive to say is sad. The numerology I cited is biblical, and a good answer as to why there are but ten. Live with it.

And I never said anything about slavery in that quote…R-E-A-D.

Please, tell you’re not that ignorant.

AJ113

Please, dispense with the sarcastic red herring and answer the question.

Silent Acorns

Well, strictly speaking they aren't "exactly the same", although they are in the same order (almost - there's some trasposition in the last commandment). Most notably, they give different reasons for why the Sabbath must be observed.
Actually, there's also a third. After Moses broke the tablets he went to meet Yahweh again. Yahweh wrote some new tablets and gave a number of new, quite different "Thou shalts". Read Exodus Chapter 34. These other commandments could be itemized as:

1. Thou shalt worship no other god (For the Lord is a jealous god).
2. Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.
3. All the first-born are mine.
4. Six days shalt thou work, but on the seventh thou shalt rest.
5. The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep in the month when the ear is on the corn.
6. Thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, even of the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end.
7. Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread.
8. The fat of my feast shall not remain all night until the morning.
9. The first of the first fruits of thy ground thou shalt bring unto the house of the Lord thy God.
10. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother's milk.

These commandments are just as pressing as the commandments in Exodus 20 and Deut 5.